Liminality
by Jason M. Lee
Summary: AU G1: A vacation to Hokkaido for Prowl, Nightraid, Sideswipe, and Red Alert takes a slight supernatural turn in the winter mountains.


Disclaimers: Transformers © Hasbro, Takara, and IDW. Shadowrunner and Nightraid belong to Vierge, borrowed with permission

* * *

**Liminality**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

What first caught Nightraid's attention after leaving Skyfire's hold was the sheer amount of whiteness that seemed to blanket Chitose Air Base as far as her optics could see. The drab gray clouds that covered the once blue sky seemed to give a dreary feel, yet giving the sensation that time appeared to have stopped. Noticing the heat waves emanating from Skyfire's thrusters, she exhaled slowly, watching her breath form visibly into a tiny mist before dissipating into the wintry air. That never happened on Cybertron before...

"First time really seeing snow eh, little sis?"

The gunmetal blue Gallardo turned to look at the grinning red Countach, wonder, awe, and curiosity on her face. "It's... I never expect this to look so beautiful. I mean, we've had acid rain on Cybertron, regular rain around Portland, and I've only seen places like this via Teletraan-1 but to actually see it in person..."

Sideswipe chuckled, optics sweeping strategically and mentally nodding to himself that nothing was amiss. Absently, he listened to Prowl and Red Alert finish exchanging notes with Skyfire regarding their pickup date. "Whole different experience, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"If you think this looks cool, you haven't seen anything yet." His grin came back. "Hope you're up for a little mountain climbing."

Nightraid smirked. "Would that be on four wheels or two legs?"

"Both," Prowl spoke up over the rush of the departing Autobot jet's roaring engines. "But before we can proceed, we have to check in with the authorities."

The red Lamborghini snorted, exhaling a good amount of steam. "Killjoy. Why can't we just hit the roads right now?"

"Because the JSDF, Japanese government, AND Prime would rather avoid receiving calls from civilians that might not make sense or interfere with emergency lines if they're about potential attacks," Red Alert curtly tossed back, adjusting his tires for the slushy conditions before driving off towards the main office.

"That, and we'll be needing the latest maps to correlate with what we downloaded from Teletraan," the black-and-white Datsun finished, ready to pull away as well. His headlights flickered. "Coming?"

Both siblings gave each other shrugs before following the 2IC, Nightraid occasionally pulling ahead and overtaking Red Alert several times before falling back in line when Prowl gently bumped her rear fender. Sideswipe snickered at the somewhat mollified wave of heat that came from his sister, and settled to answer some of the rapidly fired questions from her.

As if on cue, snow began to gently drift down, covering where they had been previously standing.

x x x x x x x

While winter wouldn't have been her choice of season for her first Earth down-time, given that the Lambos' low undercarriage didn't mix well with slush, Nightraid had to admit that there was something peaceful of seeing so much white. Children in bright jackets romped playfully in the snow, some waving cheerfully upon recognizing the Autobrand, to which brother and sister sounded their horns in return. Adults that recognized them for who they were bowed politely upon encountering the four, occasionally helping out with confirming directions. Learning that one drove on the left side of traffic in Japan was something of a new experience, having been accustomed to the right-traffic in the States.

"How do they live in such conditions..." she murmured, windshield wipers brushing away another layer of snow on reflex.

Prowl chuckled softly over the frequency. _:"For all their apparent weaknesses, humans are quite strong in ways I doubt any of us could ever fully comprehend, only the occasional glimpse. That, and numerous factors passed down from generations helps ensure their survival.":_

Nightraid hummed a little, thinking back to the humans that worked alongside the Autobots for a moment. "So, where are we going exactly? Neither you or Red said much on our destination before we left the States and I doubt you two are the types to usually take off time for a break."

_:"Yeah. I'm a little surprised that both of you, of all mechs, actually agreed to a vacation,":_ Sideswiped piped in cheekily. _:"In fact, I'm wondering whether you two remembered what a vacation even is after all these vorns.":_

_:"As much as I'm for protocol on the safety of the_ Ark_, even_ I _can heed the words of our CMO on the necessity of having time off to clear my mind,":_ the red and white Countach replied from behind Prowl. _:"WITHOUT earning major threats of bodily harm or any dents to my frame, unlike certain officers and a pair of mechs that I know of.":_

Slight revs from the front and rear, almost like coughs of embarrassment and earning giggles from Nightraid.

Due to his alt-mode's design of being somewhat more suitable to driving in snow conditions, the police Datsun had taken point, the Lamborghinis following his tire tracks with a little more ease. Funnily enough, Prowl garnered a lot more reverent bows whenever he addressed the pedestrians, even at one point receiving startled looks when they passed by a _koban_, police box, raising some questions. After Red Alert looked up notes on Japanese law enforcement, they realized that the 2IC's paint job design matched exactly that of Japan's police vehicles, even if the model wasn't the same. Turns out that Teletraan didn't realize the scanned car on display at Portland's police department was on loan at the time from its sister city Sapporo for cultural comparisons. Which lead to a good round of teasing from the more playful Lambos, Prowl ignoring the laughing pair with his usual practiced air and keeping an eye on the road conditions.

Eventually, Prowl decided to call for a break at a rest stop when the sun set much earlier than what they were used to.

"It's the difference on latitude, isn't it?" Nightraid asked, stretching out the kinks in her joints and accepting a warm energon cube from Sideswipe. "I mean, the sun doesn't set this early back in Oregon."

"Weren't you paying attention to Perceptor's oceanography lessons?"

A sheepish grin at the Security Director as she brushed some snow from a boulder before taking a seat. "Well... I kinda figured, since we're not that likely to deal with big spaces of water often... I sorta tuned him out."

Red Alert stifled a groan, opting to cover his optics and ignoring his fellow red Lambo's snickering as yellow light bulbs flickered to life around them. Prowl simply smiled into his cube, watching the road with a vigilant air while absently listening to Sideswipe explaining the fun concepts of snow, to which it was countered by Red Alert's wry comments. Memories from the Autobots' first encounter with the white material drifted to the fore, although it was tempered with the fact that it didn't occurred as the seasons of Earth dictated it to for their region. When real winter came, he was struck at the amount of illogicalness and contradictions in the varied symbolism that meant to so many cultures. After the outing of rock climbing with Hound, Prowl was able to see different patterns behind the ideas.

"What do you think of snow?"

Shutters flickered in minute surprise, side glancing Nightraid. "Why do you ask?"

She held out a hand, watching the snowflakes land and melt against her warmth with curiosity often seen on children and sparklings. "You guys have been here longer. Sides thinks it's fun, Red finds it dangerous, and I bet Sunny would see it a hazard to his paint job, even if he does see the art potential. 'Runner might like it but it is kind of a liability for her, what with the color differences."

Prowl shifted, door-wing barely brushing her. "Simplicity. Quiet. Calm. Peaceful. And..."

Nightraid tilted her head. "And...?"

Optic ridges drew together, as if trying to grasp the word or sensation. "It appears that I can't find what I'm looking for, although it is within range of my processor. Tip of my tongue, to quote Carly."

A smile, liking how the yellow light casted shadows over his face via his chevron. "Tell me when you find it. And to quote Spike, I'm bushed."

When it came time for recharge, he didn't mind when Nightraid edged closer to him underneath the parking section roof, their side mirrors almost touching each other.

x x x x x x x

"We're lost, aren't we," Nightraid stated dryly as she watched Sideswipe build something with the snow. Fingers wiggled in a gap behind her shin and she finally pulled out a chunk of ice, sighing in relief at the relieved pressure against one of her cables.

Her comment was ignored by the two officers, both knocking heads on trying to figure out how they were going to get back onto the main road without recognizable landmarks and a cloudy sky. Where one would offer something, the other would counter it in quite the verbal tennis.

They had been originally going up the road that lead to the Asahidake Ropeway, when both siblings decided to play "catch-you-catch-me", using the occasional drifting on ice to up the ante and basically driving Red Alert up the wall. Just as Prowl was about to warn them, a sudden gust of wind sent a cloud of flurries and a rather large branch right into the four Autobots, startling an unprepared Nightraid into hitting an icy patch and going off the next curve with a loud shriek. Sideswipe roared her name and barely finished transforming when he automatically leapt after his sister, prompting both superiors to follow, Prowl more quickly than Red Alert. Unfortunately, hard-packed snow suddenly gave way to hidden tunnels made by small animals and that sent them tumbling into one large heap.

The incline wasn't all that steep by Transformers standards but the laws of gravity had them rolling down the slope, gathering and loosing snow each time they bounced off trees and the occasional boulder. At one point, Prowl thought they were flying but immediately dismissed it due to lack of height and other factors that would allow such a feat. By the time they landed to a stop after thirty minutes, all four were covered with more dents than the usual sparring sessions, heating systems flashing warning messages, and gyroscopes attempting to recalibrate amidst the sensation of wanting to purge their tanks. Where communication between the four of them was still working, static and occasional dead silence coming through the radio waves nixed any thought of quick help.

"Don't worry about it too much, 'Raid," the red Lambo spoke flippantly, placing a large ball onto what resembled a mech's body. "If anybody can get us back on the roads, these two can, even if they don't have our trackers' skills. If we have to, we could always light a bon--"

"We are NOT lighting a bonfire to catch the humans' attentions unless it is the only option left for contact," Prowl interrupted momentarily.

An amused sigh sent a cloud of exhaust into the air and she went back to studying their organic surroundings, making sure to keep her sensors alert.

Fallen trees that marked their impromptu trip stood out amongst the white ice crystals, their gray bark a stark contrast that was quite similar to her own coloring. New snow was starting to cover the disturbed snow, filling in the gaps and smoothing things out into gentle mounds opposite to the angled lines of the desert around the _Ark_. Comparing the sleeping deciduous trees to the ones in Oregon demonstrated the amount of volume of leaves they held, which could provide decent hiding spots so as long the branches could hold the weight. In the distance, Nightraid saw two red fox cubs curiously poking their black noses into the snow before cautiously stepping out of a hollow log that was apparently their home. Soon, the two were playing, mock attacking each other in ways that resembled hit-and-run tactics and reminiscent of human children playing in parks she occasionally saw while passing by. Further in the distance, a lone deer walked by and simply gave a cursory look at the Lambo femme, ears swiveling in her direction before moving off.

A deep _boo-bo-voo_ had Nightraid looking up to a bare oak tree branch with what had to be the largest owl by human standards she had ever seen on Teletraan-1. Feathers were shades of brown with black, dark gray and white on the wings, feathered "horns" framing a patch of white on its face while the main body was a light cream decked with black streaks. Looking at the bird's coloring, the Gallardo had to admit that had she been looking from a different angle, it would've had been nearly invisible at first sighting, short of infrared or a change of lighting.

"Ah, _Bubo blakistoni_, previously _Ketupa blakistoni_, Blakiston's Fish Owl," Prowl murmured right next to her audio receptor, soft footsteps coming to a stop just behind her. "I'm surprised we're actually able to see one here."

She stifled a giggle when the owl tilted its head just as the Datsun did, both examining each other. For several moments, the pair continued studying the raptor until it finally took flight on quiet wings. "Why? And were you and Red able to figure it out where are we and how we're going to get back onto the road?"

"Blakiston's Fish Owl are usually found near moving water that don't freeze in the winter and is usually found in the eastern part of Hokkaido, even though it lives here near the central part as well. Unfortunately, with less than sufficient data regarding this raptor and conflicts with humans on their resources, it is considered an endangered species, to most conservationists' chagrin. As for your second and third questions..." Door-wings drooped, if only minutely but she knew the 2IC wasn't happy. "GPS algorithms and wilderness survival techniques on triangulating our position appears to be not working. It's... unsettling, much to our displeasure."

"What?!" Sideswipe shouted, having abandoned his snowmech building on hearing the news and bounding over to the couple with Red Alert in tow. "I thought we were at least close to the highway by foot, even with that tumble! I know you two aren't anything like Hound or Trailbreaker -- Pit, even Groove! -- but not even knowing where the slag we are..."

"We tried every Japanese radio channels, civilian and military, but neither of us could receive or send anything. We can't even connect with the Sky Spies that may be in this region." The fire chief Lamborghini gave a frustrated sigh. "It's like something is blocking or jamming the airwaves."

"Soundwave?" Nightraid asked darkly, knowing how frustrating the Decepticon communication officer was and ready to kick his aft if need be.

"Negative on that notion, thank Primus, as I would've detected his jamming sequences almost immediately. Possibility would be the mountains but geology reports shows there aren't enough metal deposits to block our signals here, and there is a probability that we're in a shadow, so I wouldn't rule that out either. Unfortunately, that's not the worst of it yet."

The red Countach threw up his hands in disgust. "Great! More bad news! What else can go wrong?! And nobody give me slag about Murphy's law on saying that!"

Prowl pointed up. "According to what I can garner from 'reading' the clouds, as Hound puts it, the weather around here will most likely become more disagreeable with our systems if we don't find shelter soon."

One quick glance at the swiftly darkening clouds and heavier snowfall, the Lamborghini siblings stifled grumbles of frustrations before moving.

x x x x x x x

The cave Red Alert had found lead them deeper into the forest and was roomy enough to fit all four of them comfortably, the fire built against the back wall reflecting the heat back. Nightraid was used to steady sources of light so watching the shadows dance around them was somewhat entertaining, studying how certain angles were formed against their bodies.

Sideswipe tossed another branch into the flames, blankly watching the embers flare briefly. "So, any idea how long we're going to be stuck here?"

"You're asking that when weather reports said that we were supposed to have light winds and snow for the week instead of a sudden snowstorm?" Red Alert retorted mildly, not looking up from his book-file. Swoop had been ordered to forcefully confiscate any datapads relating to work from the vacationing officers' subspace during last minute checkups, to which the junior medic did so gleefully.

"Hey, I'm just saying..."

"How bad can it get?" Nightraid cut in, diffusing the potential argument she knew it could brew. "I mean, what would happen if we stayed outside?"

As if realizing what they were about to do, both carmine mechs settled back, glad for the distraction.

"The cold can force our heating systems to work harder than usual and thus drain our reserves at a higher rate," Prowl began. "You know where that leads to. Necessary fluids can slow down and eventually freeze, potentially destroying the lines but that's only if we're exposed to a long period of time."

"Any snow that gets into our interiors can screw up the delicate parts, alongside messing up various parts like joints and transmission," her brother followed, now poking the flames. "If it melts and freezes into ice inside, it's almost as bad as getting a rust infection by salt (although probably better freezing entirely than partly). Chances of that happening now is pretty low, after enough incidents had us equipped with upgraded temp regulation systems and water-resistant stuff. Half of us found out the hard way when the Decepticons screwed up the weather on our first year here and boy, was Ratchet ready to rewire Megatron's cranium."

The Gallardo shuddered at the thought of getting something similar to rust infection. She had seen mechs that were infected externally but those were easily treatable with cleaning fluids and a good grinder in steady hands. The ones with internal infections... They had to be put out of their misery.

As if listening to something else, Red Alert turned his head towards the entrance, catching their attention.

_:"Something outside?":_ Prowl asked, caution showing on using their comm-line as he quietly subspaced his rifle out, feeling Nightraid tense her weapons. He wasn't surprised that the Security Director was able to hear sounds other than the wailing created by the wind blowing over the cave's entrance. Red Alert was on par with Blaster and Jazz when it came to acoustics, but it fell more on analyzing whether the noises meant safety or danger; the Autobot communications officer was self-explanatory while their saboteur/3IC used it often as a weapon.

_:"Sounded like Ravage but I want to be sure.":_ Soft clicks came from his shoulder launcher as he stepped out. _:"Sideswipe, back me up.":_

Several minutes later revealed a bemused red Lambo and a somewhat miffed but puzzled red-and-white Lambo cradling something in his arms.

Nightraid blinked. _:"What did you find?":_

The gently laid down burden turned out to be a wolf that was half-growling and half-whimpering, the displaced angle of its leg obvious.

"Got the animal part right but this poor guy had collapsed right at the entrance, which is how Red was even able to hear it," her brother answered, subspacing back his rifle and rifling through their wood pile. The ones that seemed to satisfy him were placed in a small pile before it was separated even further.

"Poor thing," she murmured, tentatively reaching out and ghosting fingers over its varying gray fur. The lupine gave a weak whine, nuzzling closer to the warmth. "What are you doing, Sides?"

"Whaddya think? I'm making a splint -- had to set Raoul's arm once." He held up the three smallest pieces of wood he could grasp. "He isn't going to survive with a broken limb so if any of you have some sort of clean cloth, cough it up. And before any of you ask, I don't think none of us could look at any of the nature-Bots in the optic again if they found out we didn't help this guy."

Nobody could even argue with that.

Between Red Alert's sensors on checking the break, Prowl having read up on vertebrates, Nightraid's gentle handling on working the splint with her finger tools, and Sideswipe pinning down the wolf as gently as he could, they were mildly relieved that it didn't put up too much of a fight. It had finally succumbed to exhaustion during the procedure, as if sensing that its rescuers were only trying to help. Only the slow rise and fall of its chest indicated it was still alive, alongside the occasional ear twitching.

"So no idea how long we're going to be stuck here?" the Gallardo spoke softly, not wanting to wake the poor animal.

"Hard to tell." Sideswipe cracked a large yawn, showing how much their human friends had indirectly influenced them over the years. "When is Skyfire supposed to pick us up?"

"End of the week," the third Lambo replied, already back to his book-file. "Hopefully, the storm should be over before by then."

"Right. If you'll 'scuse me, wake me if there are some Decepti-afts to kick." Leaning more comfortably against the wall, optic shutters closed and gradually he slipped into recharge.

"Hope you don't mind." A small smile at the black-and-white strategist before she went into recharge as well, resting her head against his shoulder.

For several minutes, Prowl basked in the quietness that was the winter wilderness of Hokkaido at its peak, listening to the soft revs mixing in with the low crackle of wood burning. He was even able to pick up the barely audible breathing from the wolf.

_:"You didn't tell them.":_

He glanced at his fellow officer almost innocently while easing his arm under Nightraid, shifting to accommodate her more comfortably.

_:"They'll eventually find out.":_

Red Alert studied the 2IC for a moment before simply shaking his head.

x x x x x x x

Two days later with energon rations, both siblings practically dug themselves out of the cave at Red Alert's announcement of the storm finally passing, not caring the snow they flung back were hitting their superior officers. Not that either mechs could blame the pair or the wolf that had eagerly but gingerly followed them -- cabin fever never did suit well with any one of them, not even the more vocal ones back home. Surprisingly, Prowl and Sideswipe had found some jerky that either Spike, Raoul, or Sparkplug had left behind, to which the lupine did accept although they figured from its soft whining that it would have prefer its natural food.

Still, they were amazed by the amount of accumulated snow that had been dumped in their area and it was still snowing, if albeit lightly.

"Hm..."

He wasn't startled at the spontaneous load of snow dumped onto him without warning, thankfully none landing into important gaps. "Found that word yet?"

Prowl simply brushed the snow off before grabbing her arm and flipping Nightraid over him, once again proving his status as Optimus' 2nd-in-command of the Autobots. "No, I was thinking of something else."

She grinned up at him as the black-and-white Datsun pulled her out of the silhouette that had been created. In the distance, Red Alert squawked in dismay as a result of being pelted by a cackling Sideswipe with snowballs, followed by the wolf barking happily from its perch on a boulder. "Well, what is it?"

"A Japanese myth," the 2IC answered, "relating to Shirahime."

"Shira... hime?" Nightraid tested the word on her vocal processor, trying out the unfamiliar syllables and pronunciation. It never stopped to amaze the femme sniper at the amount of languages Earth had, including the numerous dialects and accents depending on the region.

"Literally 'white princess', a snow _kami_ -- generally translated as 'spirit' or 'god' -- with ties to another snow kami named _yuki-onna_, literally 'snow woman'. Numerous tales of yuki-onna range from her being malign of freezing unwary travelers to death, to benign acts of leading them to safety during storms. Shirahime is said to be a goddess who governs snow, higher than the yuki-onna." Prowl looked up at the gray sky. "According to some stories, on days like these, snow is the tears of a crying Shirahime."

Nightraid followed his gaze upwards. "That sounds so sad yet beautiful at the same time."

A soft chuckle before moving towards the red Lamborghinis. "While not entirely logical, I will agree that there is some charm to such contradictory tales."

Suddenly, the wolf's ears perked up and he slid off its boulder without warning. Alarmed, all four Autobots moved towards the cave but the lupine headed them off, standing in front of them despite the injured leg.

Confused looks were exchanged and Sideswipe took a step forward, to which the wolf gave a short bark and bounding off away from the cave before looking back at them expectantly.

"What the frag..." the Countach warrior muttered.

"I think... he wants us to follow him," Nightraid ventured hesistantly.

"You sure that tumble from before didn't scramble your circuits, sis? OW!" A rueful look at his frowning sister while rubbing the back of his helm.

Several more wobbly steps and another yip, cocking his head.

Ignoring the minor sibling squabble, Prowl glanced over to Red Alert and realized that the Security Director hadn't gone on one of his famous paranoia fits nor went on full defensive alert.

Opposite to what amounted as his usual behavior, the red-and-white fire chief Countach was staring at the gray wolf as if encountering one of Wheeljack's more spectacular explosions that involved Skyfire and Perceptor.

"Red Alert...?" Prowl spoke, immediately concerned at the mech's behavior. Upon hearing the worry in the Datsun's voice, Sideswipe and Nightriad stopped arguing.

A weak strangled sound emitted from Red Alert's vocalizer before turning to the 2IC, drawing deeply through his vents and practically creating a miniature cloud around him. In a blessed and ironic way, the chilling winter air that would send a human towards the heater and hot tea was helping the mech kept his circuits from overheating. "We... We have to follow the wolf."

Optic ridges furrowed, door-wings twitching just barely at the siblings' presence coming from behind. "Why?"

Red Alert shook his head, somewhat calmer but still no less rattled. "You... All of you will understand. I'm sorry but I can't explain it, only that we have to."

Prowl studied his friend and fellow officer for several moments, analyzing the situation before recalling an earlier memory and made several hypothetical connections. It went against all known logic but while a certain phrase that had originally been coined for them upon first contact flitted through his processor, it also suited their organic neighbors at times. The Witwickys, Chip, Raoul, and even Astoria had taught him that going by instinct, unbound by logic and something one could usually fall back on, was sometimes the better choice.

A soft snort of hidden amusement -- not at Red Alert but at himself -- and he decided to go with his "gut feeling".

x x x x x x x

"So, what has Red all fired up?" Nightraid quipped, grabbing her brother's hand on climbing onto another snow-covered ledge. Even though the clouds were black, there was still enough light to not warrant needing night vision or infrared.

"Dunno. Last time I saw him this spooked that didn't involve the 'Cons was after he came back from DC with Sunny, Tracks, and 'Raj back in '86. Frell, neither Ratchet, Smokescreen or Jazz have been able to get the story out from ANY of them."

She quirked an optic ridge. "You're kidding."

"Hey, Smokes and Jazz are practically our resident psychiatrist and counselor, and you know Ratchet."

"Would it have anything to do with those trees planted outside the _Ark_?"

"Sakura trees and half of us think so, although we kinda chalked it up to the Japanese on wanting to show their gratitude and attempts for politics."

"Huh."

Despite its broken leg, the wolf was much quicker and more nimble through the snow than the four Autobots were, sniffing the surroundings occasionally while correcting his path, and making sure that they were still following. Prowl had tried carrying the lupine earlier, as not to aggravate the injury but the animal insisted on walking, twisting its body out of the mech's grasp. Reluctantly, the strategist gave up and only helped the wolf when they reached portions of their walk that was difficult for it to climb over.

Although not possessing lungs, per se, they had to admit that the occasional glimpse of the snow-covered mountains through the trees qualified "breathtaking". Where their volcanic home was a shade of red framed by the blue sky and surrounding forest most of the time, here the sheer whiteness with grays and blacks dominated the scenery. Even the air felt different when processed through their vents, carrying a lower amount of pollutants and the winter chill that seemed to actually clear up their air filters.

As they were approaching what appeared to be a break in the tree line, all four of them had accumulated small piles of snow where ever it could stick, while the wolf itself looked like it was wearing a white coat. Once again it paused to sniff the air but this time, his ears flickered forward in immediate alert and shot off toward the gap, yipping excitedly. Surprised by the sudden move, the Autobots quickly followed, ignoring the branches scratching and smacking into them.

Bursting through the trees, the "clearing" turned out an area just before the edge of a jagged albeit stable cliff. Whoever or whatever the wolf was bounding for wasn't something or someone the four were expecting.

Dressed in layers of sheer white _kimono_ with pale skin matching the snow, the only difference in color was the incredible blackness of the Japanese woman's long hair, her face buried in the gray fur. What looked to be the outer jacket -- _haori_ -- laid nearby, the wide sleeves wrapped around the wolf that was rumbling happily deep in its chest. If it wasn't for the strange fact that they were lead to such an isolated place by the organic equivalent of Roller, Prowl would've questioned the logic of why a human would be out in such low temperatures. A glance over to the visibly rattled Red Alert further edged "logical explanation" towards the rarely implemented "go with the flow" subprogram. Even Nightraid and Sideswipe were quiet, battle-wariness mixing with nervousness common when dealing with the unknown barely showing in their postures.

Eyes blacker than Megatron's fusion cannon lifted up and met their gaze steadily, almost colder than the outer space they often traveled through. Yet within those chilling dark eyes, there was a hint of gratitude as she stood up, one hand staying on the wolf's head. Tapered fingers shifted towards her right, as if gesturing to something down the cliff beyond their visual range on the normal spectrum.

Nightraid moved as if to speak but held her vocalizer when Red Alert promptly bowed deeply at the waist. _:"The Pit, Red...?":_

_:"Later. Just bow,":_ the security director sent back sharply. Figuring the red-and-white Countach knew something they didn't, they immediately copied his gesture.

As if on an unknown signal, wolves literally flew down from the skies, displaying only the front half of their bodies while the rest trailed behind like a comet's tail. Their howling was a lot more eerie and haunting compared to the videos from Yellowstone the nature-Bots brought back, as well slightly deeper in pitch than the mountain coyotes and northwest coast coyotes that lived near the _Ark_. Several passed by low, some buzzing them playfully while others stayed above as if acting as sentries. Picking up the injured lupine gently, the woman nodded her head politely at the Autobots before sitting on a large one that had landed on the snow without leaving any marks on it. Their animal guide gave a final bark, as if saying goodbye before the burdened wolf took off with another howl, this one calling the others to order. They circled several times over the vacationing Autobots until they finally flew off into the dark skies, their animal calls fading away.

Like a small human puppet cut from its strings, Red Alert practically dropped to his knees and hands, forming a miniature cloud again as his vents expelled the heat. "I don't believe it..."

Nightraid turned towards Prowl, optics wide as her visual receptors struggled to compute with the image processor portion of her CPU. "That... That was... THAT WAS..."

"A yuki-onna," the police Datsun murmured in awe, his "go with the flow" subprogram now slowly switching back to his preferred "logic" routines. "No, not a yuki-onna."

Sideswipe gaped openly. "Frell-- Holy-- How the-- WHAT IN SWEET PRIMUS' NAME JUST HAPPENED?!"

"We were just thanked by Shirahime," the 2IC corrected himself, keeping the "flow" on to help buffer against any potential crashing.

"For taking care of that wolf?!" The warrior Countach comically screwed his face up, trying to think it out. "That doesn't make sense! I -- we -- I thought it was just a regular wolf! Like the ones that live in Yellowstone and at the zoos!"

Both officers exchanged looks for several moments, Red Alert nodding to Prowl in deference of rank.

"Wolves in Japan are deemed extinct," he spoke softly. "Long ago, the Japanese believed them to be linked with the mountain kami in Shinto faith."

The Gallardo blinked. "But--"

"The Honshuu Wolf and the Hokkaido Wolf subspecies of the gray wolf are native to only the islands of Japan and is considered to be non-existent by most biologists today. While there have been claims of sightings on both wolves, they have yet to be verified by cryptozoologists. What we rescued was most likely a lower-level wolf kami, except just as cherished as the Minibots would be to Prime." A deep sigh, forming his own cloud momentarily. "Red Alert and I had known about that fact."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Nightraid protested, barely believing they were just visited by a deity she and and Prowl had been discussing earlier.

"Even though you two would've found out eventually, we figured that this would probably be the only time we would be able to interact with such an animal without having to worry Fish and Wildlife, or Japan's equivalent, too much," the fire-chief Lamborghini replied as he stood up unsteadily. "Besides, we did gain something."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Sideswipe muttered, still feeling the surreality of the situation.

"The direction she pointed to leads to our original destination." Red Alert vented a sigh in disbelief, his circuits now cooled down. "Payment in exchange for a task that we performed."

"Even when we weren't asked to," Prowl finished before moving down the now visible trail and picking up suddenly clear radio signals from the resort, the others following him in humbled silence.

x x x x x x x

"Is it just me, or does Nightraid and Sideswipe seem quieter than usual?" Shadowrunner murmured, glancing at her siblings from the rec room's doorway before continuing her walk. "Neither of them has pulled anything in a week and some of their usual... 'victims' are certainly looking confused."

"Ain't just ya, 'Runner," Jazz's distinct lilt drifted in just as low, keeping pace beside the Murcielago. "Prowler seems to be not as torqued as usual -- well, as usual as can be -- and Red's almost acting the same way he was for a while after coming back from DC in '86."

"Do you think we could pry the story out of them?"

A snort of amusement before sipping from his cube. "'Runner, if you thought me and Smokes had a Pit of a time trying to get it out of them, RATCHET couldn't make 'Streaker, Tracks, Red AND 'Raj run their vocals."

She raised an optic ridge. "Not even Ratchet."

"Mm-hmm. Made some of the newest and crudest threats this side of the West Coast, and they kept clammed up tighter than a trunk lid stuck together with Rewind's glue. Still won't, even now."

Shadowrunner tilted her head thoughtfully before looking out at the white landscape outside the _Ark_. A powerful and sudden cold snap from Alaska's region had covered much of northern and central Oregon in a good layer of snow while dumping heavy rain elsewhere, warranting winter equipment in the areas affected more. "I have noticed Prowl giving odd looks to the others you mentioned, the same for Sideswipe to Sunstreaker."

The saboteur shrugged nonchalantly, although gently brushing against her door panels indicated his actual feelings on the matter. "They'll tell when they want ta tell. Ain't our place to pull it out of 'em. 'Sides, I'm guessin' that whatever they went through in Japan might be related to what the others went through in DC, so there's some camaraderie in that. They're like the sakura trees -- might take a lickin' but still keep on tickin'."

Soft humming of agreement from the matte black Lamborghini, watching the snowfall before retreating to the warmer interior at Jazz's subtle tugging of her hand.

When her shift ended later that night, Nightraid found Prowl seated on a cleared boulder and studying one of the sakura trees, as if trying to work a thread of logic. As quietly as possible through the snow, she sat down and leaned against him, to which he shifted to accommodate. For several minutes, nothing but the muffling silence of the first half of her namesake.

"Liminality," he spoke.

Optic shutters flickered. "Hm...?"

"The word, liminality. From the Latin word _lîmen_, meaning 'a threshold', the state that which is betwixt and between -- neither here nor there. Snow is like that -- past the form of water but not entirely ice. We're of the living, by the old human traditions, yet we were on the bear edges of a world that is beyond our normal reach." Prowl turned his head to look at Nightraid, a glimmer of understanding on his face. "I suppose it was fitting the day of our encounter with her was on this year's winter solstice."

To that, she couldn't help but agree with him fully.

* * *

A/N: Late Christmas/Boxing Day gift for Vierge, in return for her writing the TF/Tremors crossover "The Lamborghini Extermination Squad."

Shirahime is borrowed from CLAMP's beautiful single-volume anthology manga "Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales". A common line is that falling snow are the tears of a crying Shirahime.

The Honshuu wolf and Hokkaido wolf are two subspecies of the gray wolf, native to only Japan and classified as extinct -- the Hokkaido wolf in 1889 (chemical extermination campaign) and the Honshuu wolf in 1905 (rabies plus human eradication). Despite it being deemed extinct, there are claims of sightings up to present day but none verified.


End file.
